1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to liquid measuring and dispensing devices and, particularly, to a manual pump which is designed to take up from a container an amount of chlorine-containing liquid (hereafter, "chlorine" or "chlorine liquid"), measure it and dispense it, in metered fashion, to a water reservoir.
2. Relevant Art
Currently in the art, it is the practice of swimming pool operators, or managers of small water reservoirs, to pour chlorine (the term used hereafter to designate a cholorine-containing liquid) from bulk containers into managable cups or buckets and thereafter distribute it directly into the pool or its water circulation system. The process, at times and under some circumstances, can be messy, inconvenient, time-consuming and often fraught with the possibility of spillage. My transfer pump eliminates the aforesaid negatives and provides a positive method and apparatus which, above all, expedites the pool chlorination process and greatly simplifies the task. Fluid transfer pumps per se are known in the art and abound in almost unlimited variety. After a thorough search in U.S. patent records, I am assured that my invention is unique and particularly suited for accomplishing the aforesaid task.
one particularly relevant patent is that issued to Selitzky in 1939, U.S. Pat. No. 2,183,370. This patent shows a single piston pump, all but the handle and discharge spout, immersed in the fluid container. No measument device accompanies the apparatus and a ball-in-seat check valve mechanism is a two part, set-apart subassembly. The full cycle of intake/exhaust must be manually driven with the latter portion requiring that the liquid be lifted a second time. The design and operation of '370 is analogous to a bicycle tire pump. It is important to note that the immersed cylinder/piston/valve unit of this disclosure does not (technically) lift liquid from out a lower reservoir--it requires that the pump and discharge assembly be attached to a pre-designed cover and that it be fixed over the entire liquid container.
Another relavant patent is U.S. Pat. No. 720,492, issued to Sedberry in 1903. This disclosure shows a pump of the piston/cylinder type that is fed from a liquid supply disposed at the level of, or higher than, the pump itself. A rotary valve requiring manual actuation, for fill and exhaust, allows liquid outflow from the cylinder base. I term this latter effect "allows" because outflow will naturally take place through gravity, if the piston is not constrained in its upward position. I employ this feature in my invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 645,101, issued in 1900 to Jackson, discloses not a pump, but a measuring faucet. This cylindrical, see-through container receives its charge through a petcock-controlled, higher reservoir-fed line that communicates with the container through a singly ported rotary check valve that is located at the container's base.
Most relevant, because of the valving shown in addition to the fact that it is a single-stroke (uptake) mechanism, is that apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,503, issued in 1988. The reservoir fluid dispenser shown therein is a single-stroke uptake device having a rotary control valve for selecting intake and dispensation modes. However, an exhaust stroke must be applied after the manual valve is moved to the dispensing mode. Also disclosed, and incorporated by terence in this work, are alternate valve concepts such as discrete position and spring-biased shuttle valves.
A precursor to '503 is U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,176, issued in 1987. It discloses similar art, but introduces the duck-bill valve. This valve is applicable to my invention also.
Although the aforesaid disclosures show pertinent parts of my invention, none appear to teach my combination of elements that enable me to achieve the results that I desire and reveal in the hereinafter given SUMMARY etc. I have overcome limitations such as a stationary fluid container might impose; and I have provided a mechanism that is easily attached to/detached from the container. Additionally, a flap or duck-bill valve, fluid flow check mechanism will prove most advantageous in the desired working enviornment, lending cost savings, reliability and ease of use to the invention.
3. Incorporation by Reference
Having special relevance because of the piston-in-cylinder including sealing methodology, check valving including detailed drawings of rotary, petcock, duck-bill and shuttle valves, and various container connections and distribution technologies, the following documents, all U.S. patents, are incorporated herein by reference: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,732,503; 4,695,176; 2,183,370; 720,492; and U.S. Pat. No. 645,101.